A Lesson in Following Advice
by Tinderbox of Sanity
Summary: Daniel makes a mistake with a prisoner, and becomes wounded in the process. Alexander is hesitant to aid him.
1. Chapter 1

The man didn't look all that imposing to begin with. He was about the same height as Daniel, but a bit older and even thinner—though that last part was probably due to being malnourished. That did nothing to stop him from giving quite the struggle once he was strapped down! The bag over his face did nothing to muffle his screams, but he'd been impossible to gag, so there was no alternative there. Unfortunately for Daniel, he'd made a miscalculation because of all the distractions. The straps that were made to go across the wrists were loose, and no matter how he tried to hold the man and paint the damned lines at the same time, it was no use. In exasperation, he'd gone to get Alexander for assistance.

As if the lecture on the way back to the small room wasn't enough, the sight that greeted them once Alexander opened the door was even worse. The prisoner had escaped all but one of his straps, the obvious reason being the right wrist enclosure that was still buckled. He must have slipped that hand free and gotten to the rest! The bag over his head was sliced open by the ritual dagger, which the prisoner held in his hand currently. Daniel made to step forward, but he was stopped by Alexander's hand on his chest. "Not so fast, Daniel." Alexander chastised as the prisoner quickly undid the last strap, one on his ankle, and slid from the table. They watched as the terrified man backed himself into a corner, babbling nonsense and shouting profanity at the two men in the doorway. "Let me handle this one."

"It was _my _mistake, I'll handle him!" Daniel protested.

"A desperate man is the most dangerous kind of man. If you underestimate a man facing death, you're going to get…" Alexander let his voice drop off as Daniel raced past him. He sighed, crossing his arms and frowning deeply. He watched as the prisoner swung the dagger wildly, and Daniel stepped back or moved aside, though just barely each time. One miscalculation and the prisoner over swung, giving Daniel the chance to grasp his wrist, trying to pry the dagger out of his hands. The prisoner panicked, and he did the only thing he could. He threw the weight of his entire body into the Englishman, toppling the both of them to the ground. Alexander reached up to rub at the bridge of his nose as the two of them rolled around a bit, cursing and grasping like two dogs at each other's throats.

"_Hnk_!" Daniel's sudden exclamation forced Alexander to open his eyes again. Daniel had managed to end up underneath the prisoner, and they both clutched the dagger between them. A good few inches of the end of the dagger were buried into Daniel's side, blood already staining his shirt. The weapon was trembling with the force of the two men's powerful grips, now that _both _of them were fighting for their lives! Alexander's boots gave a hollow echo in the small stone room as he approached, casually lifting a small hatchet from one of the nearby tables. No sooner than the prisoner raised his terrified eyes than the hatchet would find itself buried into the side of the man's head. Hands went slack on the dagger, and Daniel gave a groan of pain.

The only thing that kept the body from falling forward onto his foolish little understudy was that the hatchet wedged tightly into its split skull. With a strong shove Alexander let go of the hatchet and it fell with the body to the ground just beside Daniel. Now that his vision was cleared, he could see there was no real danger. The dagger was long, but it couldn't have hit anything vital in that area. Daniel would be fine. "Pull it out, Daniel." He stated calmly, moving over place his foot onto the corpse's shoulder. Reaching down with his free hand, he grasped the end of the hatchet. Just as he jerked it free from the prisoner's head with a splatter of blood, Daniel slowly eased the dagger from his side. While the dagger clattered to the floor nosily, Alexander walked away. He set the hatched back onto the table, and only then did he turn around to lean back against it, his gaze falling back to the wounded Englishman.

"_It hurts, ah, h-help…_" Daniel moaned, turning onto his side and clutching at the wound. Blood bubbled up from his fingers, flowing over them in crimson rivers.

"Of course it hurts. You should have thought of that before you disobeyed my advice."

"_I'm sorry—Oh God, it's bleeding so much… Alexander, please_!" Daniel begged now, his voice a little panicked. His face was pale, long brown hair sticking to it with a thin layer of sweat. Alexander knew the pallor was from fear and pain, and not blood loss, so he remained unperturbed.

"I'm sure you are, since you didn't get the result you wanted." The Baron chastised again instead. Daniel shook his head, tears in his eyes as he tried to control his breathing to help with the pain. "You're stubborn and impatient. Tell me why I should bother saving your life if you're only going to ignore my words and get yourself killed?"

"_Sorry… sorry…_" Daniel's breath hitched, a few tears leaving clean streaks down his dirty face. There was a fine spatter of blood there from the prisoner, as well as the usual grime one seemed to acquire down here. Alexander was quiet for a moment, watching Daniel writhe in pain on that dirty floor. He sighed.

"I take no pleasurein seeing you like this, Daniel… But you have to learn your lesson. Now come here."

"_I can't…_!" Daniel protested. Alexander pushed off from the table without a word, heading for the door. Daniel's eyes widened and he reached one blood-smeared hand out towards the Baron. "_N-no! No, wait! I-I'll come_!" He gave a low whimper of pain, nearly a sob. To his relief Alexander stopped, turning back around and crossing his arms. The Englishman turned onto his stomach, clutching at his wound with his right hand. The blood had into soaked his shirt quite a bit, making the wound appear much graver than it was. Were Alexander not such a master at creating nonlethal wounds, he might have worried. Daniel only managed to drag himself about 12 inches with his left arm before he shuddered, coughing a bit.

"You're probably going to be…" The words hadn't even finished being spoken before Daniel turned to the side and retched, emptying the contents of his stomach onto the floor. He coughed a bit more, wiping his mouth with his sleeve, which only smeared his cheek with blood. "Come on now, only a few more feet." Alexander coaxed.

"_I'm dizzy,_"

"Yes, I know."

"_I can't… please, Alexander…_"

"So dramatic…" Alexander gave in a little, taking a few steps closer. Daniel reached out to grab his ankle, closing his left hand around it tightly. He as much as used it as a stone to pull himself closer as he rose to his knees. Alexander reached down, lifting Daniel's chin with two fingers and he bent over a little.

"_Help me, I'm sorry, I won't do it again…_!" Daniel begged, clutching at Alexander's pant leg now. The Baron smiled.

"Of course I'll help you, my foolish Daniel. What do you take me for, a monster? Now let's get you patched up, and then I'll remind you of why we follow my rules, yes?" Daniel nodded desperately, and Alexander smiled. "_Good boy_."


	2. Chapter 2

There was so much blood, Daniel began to feel dizzy. He'd gotten used to the sight of it ever since a while back, but this blood was _his own_! The pain was sharp, making him nauseous, though he had nothing left in his stomach to vacate after having been sick once already. Alexander was still scolding him, even as he helped him to lie on the table. He'd seen many bodies lay here before him, drained the blood from several of them himself. His skin was damp with sweat, and his hair was clinging to his face and neck from it. Alexander was stronger than he looked, wasn't he? He had never even faulted one step, not even when Daniel had stumbled along while leaning on him.

Daniel winced as more lights came on around him; Alexander obviously lighting a few so that he could see better. After the sound of ripping fabric and popping buttons, he felt the cool air against his skin, provoking a shudder. "Stay still Daniel." The Baron would chide him, and Daniel tried to comply. Cool fingertips would touch around the wound in his side, inspecting it carefully. He'd said it wasn't life threatening already, but that didn't mean it wasn't dangerous. There was infection to worry about, and of course stopping the bleeding… A wet cloth was pressed over the wound, and Alexander grabbed Daniel's hand and pressed it over it. "Press as hard as you can."

Daniel made the mistake of glancing over as Alexander pulled away, eyes widening as he watched the Baron lift the suture needle to thread it. He swallowed hard, giving a low whimper from the back of his throat. Apparently Alexander found that amusing, because he chuckled. "You sound like one of my old dogs…" He muttered as he lifted the needle driver once the suture was threaded. He carried them both over as Daniel gave him a puzzled look. He'd never seen any dogs here in Brennenburg, but then, maybe he didn't want to know. "Now let me see…" Alexander pulled the cloth away slowly, and gave a slight grimace at the sight of the wound. "Brace yourself, Daniel." He said as he grabbed the suture needle with the pliers like tool called the driver.

"_P-pain_!" Daniel protested, so flustered he couldn't seem to speak in clear sentences. The Baron scoffed, brushing away the hand that tried to stop him. "_P-please Alex-ander, s-something for the pain…_!"

"We don't have time for that. And besides, most medicines I could give you right now would only thin your blood. Now grab on to the edges of the tables and use what I taught you." Daniel felt his tears running in hot rivers from the corners of his eyes to soak the hair at his temples. Regardless of the fear and the anticipation of agonizing pain, he nodded. Grasping the edges of the table until his knuckles were white, he closed his eyes.

Bright red light flashed across his eyes as a pain like a white hot poker shot through his side. "_A-ah, God…_!" Alexander had taught him how to handle pain. It was easy in small doses. Daniel had even learned to enjoy it at some levels! But this was beyond anything they'd quite gotten to yet, and he was having trouble coping. Another sharp pain, and Daniel's breath hitched. "_Ooh, hhss…_!" He let the pain come in waves, holding it in the core of his body like a coiled spring as he breathed in deeply.

"That's right," Alexander encouraged, "Just endure it." The Baron was looping the suture around the driver, tying the knot. After this he could work must faster with those nimble fingers of his. Each sharp jab of pain was like being stabbed all over again, only in a much more concentrated form. Daniel was breathing deeply, his chest shuddering with sobs he couldn't let free. Somewhere along the way, the bright lights and bottled up pain faded into darkness.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

When Daniel opened his eyes next, he recognized the canopy of his own bed. For a moment he thought that his vision was fuzzy, but he soon realized that he simply couldn't see clearly because it was very dimly lit in the room. Daniel's hand rose to brush his hair out of his face, turning over onto his stomach. "_Ach…ow…_" He complained when he felt the pain at his side. It was then he realized that he was naked, and his skin was blessedly free of the blood, dirt, and sweat that had been covering him earlier. He wore only a swatch of bandages around his middle, already stained a bit red over where his wound was. Footsteps alerted him to another's presence, and Daniel forgot about his pain. "Alexander?" He asked hopefully. The Baron came into view from the end of the bed, moving up to the head of it. He sat down there, and before Daniel could even speak he started in.

"I'm going to take a guess and say you've learned your lesson." Alexander said with the raise of one thin white eyebrow. Daniel bit his full lower lip, grasping at the sheets.

"Yes…"

"You'll listen to me next time? You won't charge in and jeopardize everything we've worked for, against my better advice?"

"No, Baron." Though they were beyond formalities, this particular scolding seemed to call for the title of respect.

"Further more?"

"_I'm sorry._" There was a very real fear in Daniel's voice now. Alexander knew very well that he was all the young Englishman had left in this world. The only thing keeping Daniel from the Shadow's grasp was the Baron, as far as he knew. "_And thank you._" Daniel swallowed, reaching out with one hand. He lifted Alexander's hand from where it rest on the Baron's lap, bringing it to his lips. He placed a kiss there; his own fingers wrapped around two of Alexander's own. Those long, slender, deft fingers which could cause unimaginable pain… or give otherworldly pleasure. They had saved his life personally this time hadn't they?

"You're not forgiven quite yet, but we'll let it go at that today. Heal quickly Daniel, we still have much to do." Alexander moved to stand, but he found his fingers locked tightly within the Englishman's hand. Daniel's eyes were wide and panicked, accentuating the shadows under them in this dimly lit room.

"_Please don't go! Not now, not yet…_!" Daniel pleaded, breath hitching a little. He was weak! Defenseless! "_Every time I close my eyes I see that man!_" The Englishman whined. "_A-and my blood! What if it draws the Shadow? What if I dream! Please Alexander, don't leave me_!" Daniel's dry lips kissed the back of that hand again, and he moved on to kiss each finger separately. Alexander was frowning, irritated with this waste of time. But what more could he do? He'd promised Daniel an end to the nightmares. If he left now, the young man would surely have them.

"Don't think this means I've forgiven you." Alexander said at last, settling himself back down. He leaned back against the headboard, and Daniel carefully moved up to rest his head on the Baron's lap. Alexander's long fingers went to that long brown hair almost out of instinct. Nails brushed over Daniel's scalp as he ran them through those unruly strands. Daniel gave a small sound from the back of his throat, a little hum of pleasure. He was right about the Englishman being a pet perhaps, but Daniel was no dog. A _dog _you could train. Daniel was a spoiled and self-entitled cat who never seemed to learn his lesson. Well, at least it meant he never had to worry about being bored, as Daniel could always use another _lesson._


End file.
